QVC show host Carolyn Gracie (from left) and former host Sheila Johnson (right) selling a set of jewelry.

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QVC is a West Chester, Pennsylvania, USA, based multinational corporation, specialising in televised home shopping. Founded in 1986 by Joseph Segel, QVC broadcasts in four major countries to 141 million consumers. more...

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The name is an initialismâ€”standing for "Quality, Value, Convenience"â€”ostensibly, the three pillars of Segel's vision for the company.

Corporate history

QVC was founded on June 13, 1986. The first live broadcast took place at 7:30 ET on November 24 of that year. Hosts Kathy Levine and Bob Bowersox featured a shower radio for $11.49. Initially running live for 16 hours a day, the channel extended its broadcast hours to 24 at the beginning of 1987. The corporation set a new record for first full-year fiscal sales for a new public company of $112 million.

In a move that many considered to be a risky gamble, QVC acquired its top competitor, the Cable Value Network (CVN), in 1989, despite the fact that CVN was about twice QVC's size. By February of 1990, many cable systems nationwide had replaced CVN with QVC. The $380 million deal contributed to a loss of $17 million during the next fiscal quarter, and then to difficulties in the couple of years that followed. However, with a major piece of its competition out of the picture, the network eventually progressed to renewed and stronger profitability.

In 1993, QVC, Inc. formed a deal with British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB) to create a UK version of the channel. QVCâ€”The Shopping Channel first broadcast in the UK on October 1.

On February 2, 1995, Comcast purchased a majority shareholding in QVC, Inc., taking control of the corporation. QVC kicked off the "Quest for America's Bestâ€”50 in 50 tour" a 50-week nationwide product search.

QVC's shopping network went online on September 9, 1996, when the company's interactive division, iQVC, launched QVC.com, allowing customers to purchase their items online via the Microsoft Network. QVC Germany launched in December of that year.

QVC was named "Official National Retailer for the 53rd Presidential Inaugural" in 1997, and US operations at Studio Park commenced on September 24.

On August 8, 2001, QVC @ the Mall, a flagship store at the Mall of America in Minnesota, opened. QVC shipped its 500 millionth package on October 29, 2001.

July 3, 2003 saw Comcast sell its majority share to Liberty Media, setting the value of the company at $14 billion.

In March 2004, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) charged QVC with making "deceptive claims" about weight loss products and the United States Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the company. This case has since been dismissed. Around the same time, QVC Inc. bought out BSkyB's 20% holding of QVC UK, thus becoming sole owners of the network.

Also that year, over 105 million units were shipped, more than 160 million phone calls were handled, 2 million new customers were gained, and QVC had its biggest sales day ever, December 4, both online and on air.